Delving Deeper

DOMESTICATING DYNAMISM
While Colani’s transportation designs present his ambitious vision for the world, his furniture and household pieces are certainly a more serviceable genre for collecting. His most familiar pieces of furniture include his TV-Relax chair (1969) and his Zocker chair (1972). Made of molded rubber and molded polyethylene, respectively, both are emblematic of their time, embracing organic forms and a sense of continual movement. According to Gerti Draxler, head of the design department at Dorotheum, they are of particular interest to collectors in tune with their “extraordinary formal aspects.” The Cantilever chair similarly boasts “extraordinary” qualities, though it presents a more architectural approach to chair design, emphasizing structure through the legs that support the cantilevered seat. Made from fiberglass- reinforced polyester, it is one of only two or three specimens produced. Hyper energy, as usual, pervades.